"GTFOH, you goof, you're ruining the picture..." - opponents out of place in a given run

Fergy · Nov 27, 2024

IntentionalButt said: ↑

So, looking at the very end of Joe Calzaghe's career...you've got the immortal humiliation and forceful deflowering of Jeff "Left Hook" Lacy, probably his biggest claim to fame. You've got the division's awkward, dirty, "who needs 'em" boogeyman, Sakio "The Scorpion" Bika - dealt with, beaten as his own game. You've got the gut-check victory over the best young super middleweight in the world, Mikkel "The Viking Warrior" Kessler. And you've got the pair of legacy-cementing 2008 decisions over legends of the sport - in curious parallel, surviving 1st round knockdowns against both - Hopkins & Jones.

You couldn't script a better storybook 25 month span to put a flourish on his time in the ring and dispel literally all the criticisms from throughout his lengthy but nitpicked WBO reign. ("He doesn't fight punchers. He doesn't fight anyone in their prime. He doesn't fight big names. He doesn't leave Wales. Well, he did all of that from 2006 until 2008...)

But then smack in the middle of it all you've got this big goddamn eyesore, this Peter Manfredo Jr. date sandwiched in twixt Kessler and Bika. It's a nuisance. It's awful. Even taking away the poor stoppage - which for many years was held up as the poster child and type specimen for British referee gun-jumping - it was just a stupid bit of matchmaking that did absolutely nothing for Calzaghe. Such a dip in opponent quality after Lacy and Bika. Not a useful prep for the crisp-boxing Dane in the slightest. Can't even lay it at the feet of boxing politics, as what Calzaghe was supposed to do was defend his IBF title against mandatory Robert Stieglitz. Manfredo was a stay-busy WBO voluntary. Granted the Rhode Island club fighter was ranked #6 by the organization, but that's a gas. He was 2-2 in his previous four bouts. Stoppages of Pemberton and Spina by no means should be catapulting anyone to a world championship tilt, especially when preceded by two defeats.

Think of what an epic 5 bout stretch that would make, if you excised the worthless tune-up with the mediocre reality TV show veteran.
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Happens All the time.

bolo specialist · Nov 27, 2024

IntentionalButt said: ↑

Manfredo was a stay-busy WBO voluntary. Granted the Rhode Island club fighter was ranked #6 by the organization, but that's a gas. He was 2-2 in his previous four bouts. Stoppages of Pemberton and Spina by no means should be catapulting anyone to a world championship tilt, especially when preceded by two defeats.
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AwardedSteak863 said: ↑

With that said, Manfredo wasn't a bad fighter, he simply wasn't a world class guy.
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It's easy to dismiss Manfredo as a "gimme" in retrospect, but the manner in which he blew out Pemberton was quite shocking & impressive @the time & even broke him into The Ring's top 10. As far as voluntary defenses go, Calzaghe could've done much, much worse.

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"GTFOH, you goof, you're ruining the picture..." - opponents out of place in a given run

Fergy Walking Dead Full Member

bolo specialist Boxing Addict Full Member

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"GTFOH, you goof, you're ruining the picture..." - opponents out of place in a given run

Fergy Walking Dead Full Member

bolo specialist Boxing Addict Full Member